


Javert's Injury

by oberynmartell



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Au - Nobody died, Established Relationship, Injured javert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-02
Updated: 2013-03-02
Packaged: 2017-12-04 02:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/705460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oberynmartell/pseuds/oberynmartell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Javert looks as if he is in pain, and Valjean has noticed. Fluff, one-shot, please comment or Kudos!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Javert's Injury

Javert winces when he moves. It’s only a small expression, fleeting across his strict and handsome features, in instances such as when the man rises from his chair or crouches to put his boots on. Only the most observant man would see it, but Valjean was observant – it was a trait he quickly picked up in all his time running from the very same Inspector he now cared for, the very same Inspector he had dragged from the River Siene, and the very same Inspector who now resided in the same house as him, the one he shared a bed with, and loved with a ferocity he before did not know existed.

Valjean had noticed something was wrong with Javert three days ago, when the man entered the house after a day at work and rushed to get changed without a word to him. When he returned with a clean, dark shirt on, Valjean asked him if he was ok and was only met with the reply that Javert merely wanted to get out of his work clothes. This would have been a perfect excuse if not for the fact that it simply _wasn’t_ the kind of thing Javert would say. Usually the man removed his coat and only changed after he had greeted Valjean, and never with the urgency had he done so then.

The next time Valjean noticed something was amiss was later that evening. Cosette and Marius came round to dine with them, and all four sat round the dinner table. Valjean accidentally knocked his wooden bread plate to the floor, and Javert automatically bent to pick it up. The Inspector inhaled sharply as he did so and his hands turned white around the wood. Valjean said nothing of it, but Javert seemed to realise that he had noticed. He remained quiet for the rest of the night.

When Cosette and Marius had retired to the guest bedroom and Valjean and Javert were finally alone in front of the fire in the living room, Valjean ventured a question.

“Javert, are you ok? You seem… In pain” He smiled, crossing the room to sit beside him. Javert inched slightly further away, but seem to will himself to stay put.

“I am perfectly alright, Jean” He replied with a forced smile.

“Cosette and Marius have gone to bed…” Valjean purred, a hand sliding up to rest on the Inspector’s arm, but Javert flinched away.

“I am… _tired._ I believe I shall also retire early” He hissed, and without another word, he rose and left the room, back straight as if he were on duty.

From then on, Valjean had left the subject and not pushed any further, but instead merely watched Javert and noted all the tiny grimaces he made when he moved, and how, when he was still, he seemed uneasy also. It was only now, three days after Valjean’s first suspicions, that he decided to speak up again. He was sat in the kitchen, tea on the table in front of him, legs stretched on the chair opposite. Javert was pulling on his coat and fastening his boots, heading for another day at work. The morning sunlight streamed through the window and landed on the silvery-brown strands on Javert’s head as he stooped to tie his shoes.

“I know something’s wrong” Valjean stated, and the Inspector froze.

“I… don’t kno-“

“Yes, you do” Jean cut in, his patience growing slightly thin. What would Javert possibly need to hide from him? “You know _exactly_ what I mean”

Javert stood, not with his usual grace and ease, and looked down at Valjean from where he sat.

“I am fine”

“Why are you lying to me?” Valjean retorted, more harshly than he meant to, and he also stood up. Javert looked like he was going to make an exit for the door but thought against it, instead, he backed up closer to the wall.

 _“I am not lying to you”_ He growled, but Valjean had already crossed the room and now stood toe-to-toe with the other man. He kept the Inspector’s eyes while his hand ghosted towards Javert’s chest, feeling the fabric of his shirt, and then, with perhaps more force than necessary, he _pushed_ at the man’s ribs.

Javert barely stifled a cry and bent double, clutching his side. Valjean rested his hands comfortingly on his shoulders, yes, he disliked causing Javert pain, but he knew something was wrong, and it was the only way the Inspector was going to tell him.

“Will you _please_ tell me, Javert?! I care about you!” He urged, slipping Javert’s coat off.

“Damn you!” Javert retorted, but Valjean knew he did not really mean it. He unbuttoned Javert’s shirt and the Inspector rested his back against the wall, clearly giving up on resisting. He titled his head back and sighed.

“Jesus…” Valjean hissed as the shirt finally revealed the source of Javert’s pain. Wrapped round the Inspector’s torso were several layers of bandages, soaked in blood. _So that explains the dark shirts,_ Valjean thought as he unwrapped the bandages. Javert rested a hand on his wrist as if to tell him to stop, but made no other physical or verbal action to support it. Valjean felt his head spin slightly when the last bit of bandage fell away, and he could clearly see the multiple stab wounds on Javert’s torso.

“In God’s name, Javert, what _happened_ to you!?” He cried, leading the inspector to a chair. Javert exhaled deeply and looked up at Valjean.

“A few days ago I was patrolling round an area infamous for gang crimes, and spotted a group of drunkards across the way, apparently beating another man on the ground” He hissed in pain when Valjean’s hands ghosted across the wound “I tried to arrest the ring leader, but there were too many of them, and they… defeated me. One young man had a knife, and the rest is evident” He indicated the wounds with a sigh, and Valjean squeezed his hand affectionately.

“Did you get away?” He asked softly.

“No, I was… on the floor as they beat me from above. A trio of officers had heard the noise and apprehended the gang. A doctor back at the station treated me”

Valjean threw his arms round the Inspector, who seemed rather surprised at the sudden contact, but did not attempt to push away.

“You could have _died,_ Javert, I could have lost you forever, after everything that’s happened!” He whispered, clutching the man tightly as if to let him go was to surrender him.

“I am _fine,_ Valjean, I did not die and nor was I crippled” Javert replied, trying his best to comfort the man. Such things were not his forte.

“But what if one day something _does_ happen, more drastic than this instance?” Valjean replied, pulling back so he could examine the Inspector’s face.

“I will not leave you, Valjean, I assure you that” He replied, a rare smile flitting across his features. He rose slightly to capture the ex-convicts lips, and Valjean responded in kind “Besides, the doctor has informed me the wounds will heal with time, as long as they remain sterile”

“Well then allow me to dress them with new bandages every night, at least” Valjean reasoned, stretching across to retrieve Javert’s other boot. He slipped it on the Inspector’s foot and tied the laces, as Javert sat and let his hands slide over the ex-convict’s shoulders. When Valjean had finished, the two men stood.

“If, God forbid, something like this happens again, swear to me that you won’t keep it a secret”  
Valjean pleaded, a hand on Javert’s arm.

“I swear” He replied, planting another kiss on the other man’s lips before making his way to the door “I fear even if I did try to keep it from you, your deductive skills would find me out” He added, with a grin “If you had not decided to become an outlaw, I’m sure you could’ve become a good inspector... of course, not as good as myself"

Valjean laughed and sat down to his newspaper again as the front door closed behind Javert.

“You bet I could"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my first Les Miserables fic and I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Please comment or kudos, as it is only my second work posted on this site!
> 
> Also, I DO TAKE FIC REQUESTS. I'll have a go at anything, so please feel free to leave a request or a prompt!


End file.
